CHARLOTTE, N.C. –
Adrian Delph tied his career-high with 21 points as App State men's basketball overcame a nine-point halftime deficit in a 61-57 win at Charlotte on Friday evening.
Delph finished 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from the field and went a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. He also tied his season-high with five rebounds, dished out a career-best five assists and added a pair of blocks.
The Mountaineers now stand at 4-1 through their first five games of the 2020-21 season. It marks the first 4-1 start for the program since 1993-94.
Trailing 35-26 early in the second half, App State mounted an 8-0 run, capped by a trey from
Michael Almonacy, to pull within 35-34 with 14:59 left to play. The 49ers (1-3) came right back with a 9-2 spurt to build their lead back to 44-36 with just under 13 minutes to play.
App State answered right back with six straight points to pull within 44-42 with 10:02 left to play. Charlotte pushed its lead back to six at 53-47, before the Black and Gold went on a 7-0 run, capped by a
Donovan Gregory 3-pointer, to take a 54-53 lead. Leading 56-55, Delph hit a fadeaway 3-pointer from the top of the key to beat the shot clock with 15 seconds left to push the Mountaineer lead to 59-55. Charlotte came right back with a layup, but Delph hit a pair of free throws with five seconds left to put the game away.
In all, App State held Charlotte to just three points over the final 7:14 of the contest and just 1-of-7 (14.3 percent) shooting from the field.
Delph scored eight of App State's first 12 points and gave them an early 12-9 lead with 12:44 left in the first half. Charlotte answered with eight straight points to jump in front 17-12 and held the lead for the remainder of the half, taking a 33-24 advantage into the intermission.
Kendall Lewis added 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Gregory chipped in with 10 points.
The Mountaineers finished the with 10 blocks in the victory, getting three apiece from
CJ Huntley and
James Lewis Jr. The 10 rejections mark the most for the program since recording a single-game program record of 12 against Lees-McRae on Nov. 11, 2011.
The Mountaineers held a 14-4 edge in fast-break points and forced the 49ers into 12 turnovers.
App State will play next on Tuesday at No. 12-ranked Tennessee. Tip is set for 7 p.m. on SEC Network and the Appalachian Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.
App State men's basketball would like to thank the Law Offices of Timothy Welborn as its 2020-21 season sponsor.
